1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an air flow direction control apparatus, and particularly to an air flow direction control apparatus and method for rotating blades which determines the discharge direction of treated air to a desired position in spite of the application of an undesirable external force or mechanical defect thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, an air conditioning apparatus has been developed to apply fuzzy theory or neuro-fuzzy theory, in which the amount of air to be treated is varied according to various room condition data and the rotation angle of the blades for determining the discharge direction of the treated air is automatically controlled, thereby optimally operating the apparatus.
In the conventional air conditioning apparatus, a system controller operates a cooled (or heated) air generating device so that the appropriate amount of air, as determined according to the various room condition data, may be generated. The cooled (or heated) air thus generated is guided by the blades and then discharged from the apparatus.
A stepping motor, which can precisely control the rotation angle, may be preferably used as the means for rotating the blades.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional air conditioner in which the indoor unit is designed to be physically separated from the outdoor unit.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional air conditioner generally comprises a main housing 10, an air suction portion 20 for inhaling air to be heat-exchanged, and an air discharge portion 30 for discharging the heat-exchanged air from the apparatus.
The air suction portion 20 is ordinarily disposed in the lower portion of the main housing 10, and the air discharge portion 30 is ordinarily disposed in the upper portion of the main housing 10. Several blades, which are designed to move simultaneously, are disposed at equal intervals internal to the air discharge portion 30.
On the other hand, a conventional air flow direction control apparatus comprises a mechanism, that, despite the application of an undesirable external force to the blades, prevents the transmission of the external force to the axis of the motor which rotates the blades, and restores the blades to their intended position upon the removal of the external force.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional air flow direction control apparatus, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are sectional views of a conventional air flow direction control apparatus in the closed and opened states, respectively, of the blades thereof.
Referring to FIGS. 2 through 4, as a motor 51 operates, a crank arm 54, which is provided in a slide perforation 53 of a link 52, is rotated. A first slide member 56 and a second slide member 57 are provided on the upper and lower part of the crank arm 54, respectively. The first and second slide member 56 and 57 are connected to each other by a resilient member 55 in order to achieve a rectilinear movement with the simultaneous movement of the link 52. The rectilinear movement of the link 52 rotates shafts 59 which are connected to blades 58, so that the blades 58 move within a predetermined range. When an undesirable external force is applied in one direction to the blades 58, the shaft 59 is rotated thereby and the link 52 is moved in the direction of arrow "A" as shown in FIG. 4. Protrusions 60, which are provided adjacent both sides of the crank arm 54 and integrally connected to the link 52, push the second slide member 57 in the direction of arrow "A". Hence, the first slide member 56 placed on the upper portion of the crank arm 54 remains in a fixed position and the resilient member 55 is extended. Consequently, the external force applied to the blades 58 is not transmitted to the crank arm 54, thereby preventing the movement of the motor 51 from being interrupted. Further, when the external force is no longer applied, the link 52 is moved upward by the restoring force of the resilient member 55. The blades 58 then return to the intended position.
However, the afore-mentioned conventional air flow direction control apparatus has many problems in that the whole structure is complicated and occupies a significant amount of space. Because of the excessive number of parts required, the assembly efficiency is low and the production costs are high.
Furthermore, the blades can not be restored to the exact position at which the blades were placed prior to the application of the external force due to a defect in the resilient member.
Another air flow direction control apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Sho 62-123248 (1987). However, the apparatus according to the Japanese official gazette is merely for positioning the blade at a specified position simultaneously with the stopping of the operation of the air conditioner, not for restoring the rotation angle of the blade, after it is changed by an undesirable external force, to the intended position prior to the application of the external force.